


The Beginning of a Downward Spiral

by luckyweapon



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Other, i dont use this site often so idk how to use tags LOL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:27:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24666847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckyweapon/pseuds/luckyweapon
Summary: Some scratching sounds, a dark childhood bedroom, and a young Lilith's realization.
Relationships: Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne
Comments: 3
Kudos: 100





	The Beginning of a Downward Spiral

**Author's Note:**

> i wanted to write a story about some young clawthornes, specifically lilith finding out or reacting to eda's curse for the first time. so that's what i did!  
> (forgive me if this is happens to be ooc or whatever, i just love angst. teehee.)

* * *

“Edalyn?”

Lilith’s voice is quiet, and her knocking is, too. Her white knuckles rap against the dark oak of Edalyn’s bedroom door, out of courtesy. Her hand then drops to the brass doorknob, fingers curling to open it, but she stops, taking a moment to listen.  
On the other side of the door, there’s a scratching, repetition stark against the otherwise silence.

“Edalyn,” Lilith repeats, a little louder, her fingers turning the knob. The door doesn’t budge, locked by someone on the inside. “Open the door, Edie.”

The scratching stops, but it’s replaced by another noise, a hissing sound like a cat’s been cornered. Lilith’s heart pounds in her chest, and she jiggles the doorknob again. It still doesn’t move. Panic blooms in her chest, and she twirls her finger around the curve of the knob, a magic circle unlocking the doorknob.

The door creaks open, and the room inside is dark. Lately, Edalyn’s taken to it—Every time Lilith stops by her room, the light’s have been turned out.

“Edie?” She whispers, once more, her voice starting to shake. Something in the back of the room moves, almost bristling. Lilith steps closer, into the room, a summoned light now bouncing in the palm of her hand.

“Stop,” Edalyn’s voice comes out, but her voice croaks like she’s tearing up. The light shines across her room—Eda is sitting on her bed, knees curled to her chest, her forearms brought to her face to block the light from her eyes.

There’s something wrong, and Lilith knows it. She takes another step forward, and Eda scrunches up, pulling her knees closer, and her body shudders. No, not her body, just the black feathers sticking up from her arms.

“Edalyn,” Lilith whispers, almost a breath. She leaves the light floating there, and she scurries forward to Edalyn’s bed. The other girl shrinks, trying to back away from her sister.

“Go away, Lily,” she begs, quietly, a hint of actual desperation in her voice. Lilith stops by the side of her bed. It’s a mess—There’s little trinkets scattered completely over the mattress, shiny jewelry, and little coins. There’s also sticks and twigs lining the sides of the mattress, like she’s trying to build up around it. Some of the little branches are only half-put into the nest she’s making. She wonders if the scratching noise was from Edalyn’s building.

Lilith is quiet, and she moves a little closer, lifting a knee to rest on the edge of the mattress. Edalyn doesn’t move as her sister lifts her hands, resting them on her arms. Lilith starts to smooth down her bristling feathers, getting them to lay flat against her skin.

Eda lifts her arm, looking at Lilith with large, watery eyes. She’s been holding back her tears.

Lilith moves to sit on the mattress, backing up against the wall to sit next to her sister, still patting down the feathers and gently smoothing back her hair. Silent tears start to drop down Eda’s face, a mixture of fear and relief on her face.

“I don’t know what’s wrong,” she croaks, as Lilith wraps her arms around her sister’s shoulders.

“It’s okay,” Lilith whispers to her, rubbing her upper arms to comfort her.

“It’s _not_ ,” Eda says, turning her face to press into Lilith’s hair, sniffling, trying to hold back little sobs. “I’m a monster, Lily.”

“You’re _not_ a monster,” she says, and the conviction almost makes Edalyn rethink it.

She grows quiet, silently weeping into her sister’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, Edie,” Lilith mumbles. “We can figure it out, okay?”

“—You can’t tell anyone,” Edalyn says, pulling out of Lilith’s embrace, looking her in the eyes.

Lilith blinks, staring at her sister’s face—it isn’t obscured by her arms, or hidden in her shoulder, and now she can see it all. It’s warped, twisted, almost; Her lips are pulled up over her teeth, sharp fangs starting to push out of her mouth, and her eyes are dark. She can see the smallest hints of Eda’s golden eyes, but it’s like a dark film has been put over them, a veil of black that’s starting to make Lilith question if she was right to say her sister isn’t a monster.

“I won’t,” she finally says, her voice creaking.

Edalyn stops, her own hands resting on Lilith’s upper arms. If she presses any more, her sharp nails might break into her skin.

“You have to leave,” she whispers. “And lock the door on your way out.”

Lilith gets the feeling that she should take this warning to heart.

She scoots forward, off of the mattress, careful not to get her skirt stuck in the branches lining the bed. As she leaves, she casts a last look at her sister, cowering fearfully against the wall. Lilith knows she’s scared of herself.

The light blinks out as Lilith closes the door, and as she walks down the hallway, she can hear the scratching from Edalyn’s room resume.


End file.
